Last week went as well as possible for the Central High School basketball teams as they got three home sweeps in three home dates.
The Central teams swept their homecoming games against Vian on Jan. 23, with the Tigers outlasting the Wolverines 93-89 in triple overtime, then the Lady Tigers handled the Lady Wolverines 60-23.
On Thursday, the Central squads swept county rival Gans at home as the Tigers clawed the Grizzlies 60-39 after the Lady Tigers did likewise to the Lady Grizzlies, winning 65-25.
The Central teams completed the 3-for-3 on home sweeps for the week as they each defeated the Westville squads on Friday night, with the Tigers winning 64-40 and the Lady Tigers prevailing 61-36.
In the boys’ homecoming victory over Vian, the Tigers (11-7), who trailed 49-46 after three quarters, outscored the Wolverines in the final period 16-13 to force overtime with the game tied at 62-all.
After nothing was decided in the first two OTs, it took the third overtime to do it as Central outscored Vian by four points to complete the come-from-behind win.
For the game, Aiden Sainer and Devon Baggs each scored a game-high 28 points to lead Central, followed by Isaac Rogers with 14 points, Coy Blackburn with 11 points, Cade Tucker with 10 points and homecoming king Joseph Lee with two points.
In the girls’ homecoming win, The Lady Tigers (15-3) jumped out to a 15-5 lead after a quarter, which became a 37-14 halftime advantage and a 52-14 lead after three quarters thanks to a 15-0 third quarter by Central.
For the game, Hadlie Woods scored a gamehigh 20 points to lead Central, followed by Cambree Bair with 15 points, Koda Robbins and Brianna Taylor with five points each, Ayrland Jiles and homecoming queen Autumn Cernicek each with four points, Gracie Thompson, Alyssa Harris and Haley Cheek with two points each and Keeley Poindexter with a free throw.
In the Thursday night boys’ win, Central led 17-10 after a period and never relinquished the lead.
For the game, Tucker scored a game-high 20 points to lead Central, followed by Jace Mendenhall with 10 points, Hardy Buzzard with six points, Sainer and Baggs with five points each, Nathan Vann with four points, Lee and Blackburn each with three points and Rogers and Cole Holcomb with two points apiece.
In the Thursday night girls’ victory, Central jumped out to a 22-6 lead after a period and never looked back.
For the contest, Bair scored a game-high 15 points and Jiles added 10 points to lead Central, followed by Thompson with six points, Woods, Harris, Cheek, Paris Campbell and Alyvia Warner with four points each, Brianna Taylor with three points and Robbins, Cernicek and Poindexter with two points apiece.
In the Friday night boys’ victory, the Tigers stung the Yellowjackets with a 21-5 first quarter and never lost their advantage.
For the game, Baggs scored a game-high 19 points to lead Central, followed by Sainer and Rogers with nine points each, Tucker with eight points, Lee with seven points, Blackburn with six points and Hardy Buzzard, Mendenhall and Braxin Goodson with two points apiece.
In the Friday night girls’ win, the Lady Tigers rallied from a 10-8 deficit at the end of the third quarter as they outscored the Lady Yellowjackets 53-26 over the final three periods to get the come-frombehind win.
For the game, Cheek led Central with a game high 20 points, followed by Bair with 16 points, Robbins with nine points, Jiles with seven points, Woods with three points and Warner, Campbell and Cheyenne Busch with two points apiece.
